Sheriff Joe sweeps on regardless

I’m betting that he had no shortage of volunteer posse members. I’m also betting that a lot of illegals stay home when one of his sweeps is on. He seems to announce them in advance

Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s latest crime-suppression sweep netted 36 arrests, including six people who are suspected of being in the country illegally.

The two-day Valleywide enforcement effort, which ended at midnight Friday, was hampered by delays caused by protesters and monsoon storms, said Jeff Sprong, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

The sweep was scheduled to start Thursday morning but was postponed for several hours while deputies dealt with protesters blocking roadways in downtown Phoenix.

Dozens of activists protesting the state’s new immigration law have been arrested this week. The law, SB 1070, partially went into effect Thursday.

SB1070 makes it a misdemeanor offense for immigrants in Arizona not to carry registration papers, effectively allowing police to arrest a person on suspicion of being in the country illegally. But a federal judge blocked that portion of the law earlier in the week.

Arpaio has said he doesn’t need the law to hold his sweeps, which capture offenders for mostly minor violations.

The operation marked the 17th time Arpaio has deployed hundreds of deputies and volunteer posse members in an area of the Valley to root out illegal immigrants. Deputies typically take a “zero tolerance” approach to traffic offenses and then check the criminal history of the motorists.

Arpaio’s deputies have arrested 968 people in their operations dating back to March 2008. Of those, 714 were suspected of being in the country illegally, according to the Sheriff’s Office.